Leveller
by Precept
Summary: 'What is past is prologue' - an old saying, but one the Autobots will find apt as an ancient and powerful Autobot hero suddenly arrives on Earth. One of the most incredible warriors of the Great War, Leveller's presence will set in motion an ominous chain of events that neither Autobot nor Decepticon may survive! The past threatens to end the present in this sequel to Crossroads!


**PROLOGUE**

**Second Siege of Kaon**

**Final Days of the Great War**

It was clear to Ratchet, as he gathered up the smoking chassis of a former friend-in-arms, that the second siege of Kaon was not going as well as those in charge had hoped.

Blaster fire stitched through the skies above Cybertron's metallic towers as Autobots and Decepticons clashed, unleashing mighty energies that would cow the inhabitants of hundreds of other worlds. Hundreds of Cybertronians were involved in this battle, fighting, struggling, becoming extinguished. The Great War, Ratchet mused, was no doubt entering its final days.

And both sides knew it.

Dwindling energon reserves - the vital fluid that sustained all forms of Cybertronian life - had forced this climatic battle. The intent had been simple - to starve out Megatron's most loyal supporters and crush his primary base of operations. The plan had proceeded smoothly, until Megatron's Decepticons showed no sign of losing power and energy. Ratchet grimaced as he took up a fusion cutter and began the arduous task of re-purposing what spare parts he could from one ruined Autobot, the one who had once been called Viper. No, Megatron was in no danger of depleting his precious reserves of energon, not when his pet mad scientist, Shockwave, could extract it from corpses on both sides of the war. To the hyper-logical Decepticon, there was no such thing as desecration - only scientific perfection.

So, here was Ratchet, disassembling Autobot wrecks so Shockwave couldn't do the same. The fact that he was the better of two alternatives didn't give his spark any degree of comfort. The Great War had poisoned the very essence of Cybertron itself and, while Ratchet was not given to superstition, he could feel that it was doing the same to them all.

That was, if it hadn't already.

Once again, Ratchet cast his optics over the burning horizon that was now an all too common sight on Cybertron and wondered if there would even be a world to call their own at the end of it all. Many Autobots had raised a similar idea, that destroying the world in order to save it from Megatron wasn't saving Cybertron at all, but the alternative - total submission under Megatron's dominating will - was too terrifying to contemplate.

And Ratchet trusted Optimus Prime.

But Optimus wasn't present. The local commanders had launched this battle of their own stubborn initiative and, as Ratchet glanced down at the seething masses fighting over the gates of Kaon, he knew they were paying for it with sparks and energon. Still, with many of Megatron's top lieutenants away from Kaon, rampaging across other parts of Cybertron, the Autobots were slowly making progress into the fortress. On some level, Ratchet knew the logic was sound; that defeating the Decepticons here and now would end the war and prevent further loss of life, but the loss of so many friends in order to do so rankled him.

He tried not to think about it, tried not to hear the explosions and screams. He focused on his work and, luckily, in the middle of a cataclysm, there was more than enough work for a capable medic.

He had just finished patching up Velocity's energon relays - she had been an entertainer, once, long ago - when a colossal Cybertronian strode past him without a word, heading down the ridge and towards the scrap yard that had come into existence at the gates of Kaon. Suddenly, the gambit of the Autobot officers made a bit more sense.

Leveller had come.

One of the few remaining Autobots with a warrior's alternate mode, Leveller was a walking tank - quite literally. Standing taller than even Optimus, the Autobot was a distinctive, immediate presence on the battlefield. As he approached the gate, the Autobot's colossal dual energon cannons swung over his shoulders, tracked a target, and fired. A dozen Decepticons vanished in the conflagration. Decepticon Seekers came screaming in from the air, blasters flaring rapidly, but Leveller paid them no mind as he continued to advance. From his chest came a series of corkscrewing missiles, and half a dozen Seeker wrecks came crashing to the ground.

Where many Cybertronians might shout and bluster in the throes of combat, with their action circuits firing, Leveller was silent. Ratchet knew that the colossal Autobot waged war with a heavy spark. Leveller had always been an idealist, one of the foremost believers in the Autobot cause. But there was no denying his formidable firepower and his considerable skill at inflicting violence.

From his vantage point, Ratchet could see the Decepticons redeploying to face the new threat.

From the walls of Kaon came Shockwave. The purple-armoured Decepticon, his distinctive red cyclopean eye burning in his cranial casing, leapt from the battlements. His fusion cannon came up as he drew his angular body up to its full height, a crackling purple incandescence burning around the weapon's tip. Such a blast could punch a hole straight through even Grimlock's reinforced plating.

Leveller gave him both of his shoulder cannons before he could fire. Shockwave vanished in a terrific explosion. Ratchet allowed himself a grim smile; logic would dictate Shockwave's withdrawal in the face of such insurmountable firepower.

But still the Decepticons fought, even as Leveller came amongst them and switched to utilising his titanic fists and feet. Revitalised by their champion, the Autobots surged after him.

It was then, over the din of battle, that Ratchet heard a distinctive engine. It was a sound that inspired fear in all but the most stalwart of Autobots - it was the sound that, as always, heralded the arrival of Megatron.

The Decepticon leader, the self-appointed so-called savior of Cybertron, shifted from his jet form to his humanoid mode. The ground trembled as the Cybertronian titan slammed into the ground, the sole Cybertronian between Leveller and the gates of Kaon. Caught in the burning glow of thousands of fires, Megatron seemed even more demonic as his facial plating split in a hungry grin. The battle had finally drawn Megatron out and the gauntlet had been thrown down. Megatron, of course, could never refuse a challenge. Already, all Cybertronians - Autobot and Decepticon alike - were stepping back, giving the two champions their space to duel.

And, as Leveller drew himself up to face Megatron, Ratchet knew it that everything had been leading to this moment. _By Primus, this is it. _

_This is the end of the war._


End file.
